Amazon Prime content head explains how the OTT giant will have to rejig its slate as Saif Ali Khan's Dilli, Abhishek Bachchan's Breathe 2 are shot but await post-production
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; April 12, 2020)

From devouring new releases to catching up on old acclaimed shows, homebound citizens, over the past three weeks, have turned to OTT platforms for their daily dose of entertainment. But with the Coronavirus lockdown being extended, the key players rule out the possibility of churning out new shows. While Amazon Prime is winning praise for its latest release Panchayat and readying to launch the second season of Four More Shots Please, Aparna Purohit, content head, Amazon Originals India, tells mid-day that their slate will have to be reworked amid the current scenario.

"We are trying to put out shows as soon as we can. At this point of time, shoots have been stopped. Many of our projects have gone into hiatus. There's nothing we can do except work with our partners and find a way around it," says Purohit, who called off shoots 10 days before other cine bodies called for the shutdown. "It's the safety of people that comes first at a time like this."

Even though many of their eagerly awaited prestige dramas—including Saif Ali Khan's Dilli, Abhishek Bachchan's Breathe 2 and gangster drama Mirzapur 2—have been shot, the post-production work is pending. "Offline edits can happen from home, but for everything else, we require a dubbing studio. Most of these things require multiple people in the same vicinity. We are yet to assess the impact and negotiate how we will meet deadlines. We are in no hurry to put out content. We have Four More Shots Please 2 and Pataal Lok lined up. Mirzapur 2 and other shows will be out at some point this year."

It is evident that superlative content takes centrestage in their storytelling. The platform is using the time to develop robust new ideas. "At this point, we have opened up the kids' content, so they have some respite. We need more content for 16 to 24-year-olds. We need to find more themes that resonate with them. We are also focusing on horror stories and docu-series."